Is it possible to ‘invent’ a tradition?
Carol Aebersold, author of 2004 children’s book The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, seemed to think so, and time has proven her correct.
Despite appearing out of nowhere barely over a decade ago, an Elf on the Shelf is now a Christmas staple for many families – even in the UK.
In fact, it’s harder to think of a more striking example of the creeping Americanisation of the British Christmas.
The idea is that the elves are working as Santa’s spies, watching the children of the house to make sure they’re being good and then reporting back to the North Pole.
Parents are encouraged to move the elves around the house so as to give the impression that they’re being extremely diligent in their spying duties.
As a result, the product has received criticism for normalising NSA-style government spying (which seems, it has to be said, a bit of a reach) and teaching children that they’re not entitled to privacy.
If this wasn’t creepy enough, the elves themselves are pretty sinister: rosy-cheeked, with a deranged grin and dead, unblinking eyes.
It’s not too difficult to imagine them coming alive on Christmas and trying to murder you with a knife, Chucky-style.
And now, the elves are even creepier: they now come with weird little elf babies.
A shop on Etsy, along with various other places online, is now selling a full elf family, complete with baby elves, and tiny little elf high-chairs and cribs.
Whether or not you think this is cute or nightmarish is entirely subjective.
The existence of elf babies does imply, of course, that elves are reproductive creatures and may have been intimate in order to bring these beings into the world. This is a strange thought.
We’re not sure how conducive the presence of a screaming baby would be for spying on your children’s misdeeds, but we imagine the very concept of Elf on the Shelf relies on children not asking too many questions.
Regardless, elf babies seem to be quite a popular option for festive decoration this year, as the ‘Elf Baby Pack’ has sold out on Etsy.
Never fear, though – a quick search on Etsy will reveal all manner of baby elves by other designers, including newborns wrapped in snowflake-decorated scarves so your secret spies can be working parents, too.
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